A senior Labour activist has been suspended from the party over alleged anti-Semitic comments on Facebook.

Jackie Walker, a vice chair in the Momentum movement, wrote about "the African holocaust" and Jews as "chief financiers of the sugar and slave trade".

The Labour Party said: "Jacqueline Walker has been suspended by the Labour Party today pending an investigation."

Ms Walker said she was of Jewish descent and an active anti-racist.'Defended minorities'

In a statement, she said: "I have been suspended from the Labour Party for alleged anti-Semitic comments. I have been an active anti-racist trainer and campaigner for years, often in all white communities and in the most vulnerable situations.

"I have been spat at and beaten by racists. I have marched against the fascists, defended minorities, am of Jewish decent as is my partner. If they can do this to me they can do it to anyone."